Seed Lipid Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Three Quinoa Cultivars

Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa) is a human food staple of Andean South America that has received attention as an alternative crop elsewhere in the world because of its high nutritional value, due in particular to the favorable amino-acid composition of seed proteins. Although claims of a nutritionally favorable quantity of lipids in quinoa seed have been made, only limited information is available on the seed fatty-acid composition. The purpose of this research was to determine the seed lipid content and fatty-acid composition from three genetically diverse cultivars of quinoa. Total seed lipid content and fatty-acid composition varied little among the three cultivars examined. The average seed lipid content was 5.3%, 85% of which yielded fatty acids. Approximately 11% of the fatty acids were saturated, with palmitic acid predominating. Linoleic, oleic, and α-linolenic acids accounted for 52.3, 23.0, and 8.1%, respectively, of the total fatty acids. Erucic acid was slightly below 2% in all samples. Quinoa oil appears to be a high quality edible oil, similar in fatty-acid composition to soybean oil.